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Weight loss chat

A space to talk openly about weight loss journeys and challenges. Mumsnet hasn't checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. You may wish to speak to a medical professional before starting any diet.

Ultra-Processed People

256 replies

Fairislefandango · 04/06/2023 12:39

Anyone read this? I'm currently listening to it as an audiobook and it's really enlightening, if depressing! After spending years on and off various diets and ending up back where I started, I'm thinking that cutting out UPF is the only sane thing left to try.

OP posts:
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ShinyAppleDreamingOfTheSea · 07/06/2023 19:30

Interesting thread - I spotted the news article (linked to above) on BBC news app the other day .

I will add the book to my reading list .

I admit we eat a lot of ready meals and sauces. Used to cook from scratch when DS was younger but around 7 years ago my family life became very busy - and I also became vegetarian- so got used to buying in eg meat sausage/veggie sausage, meat lasagne/veggie lasagne etc and not knowing when anyone was around for food, it was easier to ensure we had a supply of ready meals available .

I was wondering whether anyone on here has read 'why we eat too much' as it sounds as if that book links in with what you are saying around the UPFs - I did follow that for a while a couple of years ago .

Watchkeys · 07/06/2023 19:39

I like Joe Delaney on YouTube, he's a gym bro, but he talks a lot about nutrition, food prep etc. might be worth dropping a mention in!

HangingOver · 07/06/2023 20:00

I've been thinking about this thread today, I think I only had two UPFs... Oat milk in coffee and shop bought nan bread with dinner. I can live with that!

HangingOver · 07/06/2023 20:03

If we're talking about satiety then yes I agree. It's incredibly easy to overeat a pack of Oreos as opposed to a bag of apples

Bloody is. They're the crack cocaine of the food world. I could smash through a whole pack of blonde Oreos in five minutes.

WeirdPookah · 07/06/2023 20:22

I have been looking at what we eat as a family, it's not much, but does include things like vegetarian sausage etc and we eat small burrito's for breakfast 4 days a week. I do love my oatmilk for coffee, 1 carton a week.

I think it's utterly depressing how prevalent crap is even if you don't think you are eating it.

LexterDay · 07/06/2023 21:05

HangingOver · 07/06/2023 20:03

If we're talking about satiety then yes I agree. It's incredibly easy to overeat a pack of Oreos as opposed to a bag of apples

Bloody is. They're the crack cocaine of the food world. I could smash through a whole pack of blonde Oreos in five minutes.

😆

chortler · 07/06/2023 21:14

Bartg · 07/06/2023 16:34

I think to convince kids to eat lots of fruit and veg it has to be good quality. The problem we have is that often the quality is really bad. The fruit provided at school is an afterthought and the kids just are put off fruit !

My kids are absolute fruitbats but love all the expensive fruit like raspberries, mangos and strawberries, it would cost me a fortune to provide an endless supply for them.

Cormoran · 07/06/2023 21:46

I always joke with my friends on how you could use an Australian loaf of bread to play volley ball if you ever forgot to bring a ball, but that you would break your hand trying to use a French one.
That one of the thing that shocked me when we moved to Sydney. How crappy the bread is and people eating a sandwich every single day with that bread. I make my own.
What is far more horrible is how parents wean their baby here! Melty puffs which Cheetos for babies, veggie straw, rice cakes, rusks, ....

Fuckingfuckssake · 07/06/2023 22:06

@colachive I'd love your list please! New to this and very short on time so a cheat sheet of what you've worked out so far would be amazing.

Stravaig · 08/06/2023 09:06

I'm reading through and smiling, it's so hard to break away from buying things pre-made, or having things exactly as we've become used to. Yet one of the great joys for me of paying more attention and bodging making alternatives myself has been getting more texture back into food. Mass production tends to blend everything into an inoffensive uniform gloop. We gradually lose our ability to cope with diverse textures, or even chew sufficiently.

If I fancy the taste of hummus, I might just mash some chickpeas with a fork, drizzle some olive oil and tahini, garlic, lemon, and done. Even whizzing up a large batch I'll leave lots more texture than the supermarket version. My 'guacamole' is roughly chopped avocado and cherry tomatoes with whole coriander leaf, lime, lemon oil. No blender required.

Some examples from this thread. You'll have the flavours of olive tapenade if you squash or chop olives, drizzle olive oil, add fresh herbs or preferred spices, stir together, and pile on sourdough toast (or, with pulses). Pesto is oil, herbs, garlic, hard cheese, plus pine nuts if you can afford them - just add to the pasta as separate ingredients and stir, no whizzing into a paste required.

Serve whole berries with plain yoghurt, no need to blend together into pink mush first to mimic ultra processed flavoured yoghurts. MN lunchboxers say the frozen berries keep the yoghurt chilled as they defrost, just stir and eat. I think it's especially important for children to experience foods in as whole a form as practical. My grandfolks used to give the wee kids broken pieces of fish fillet, breaded individually, voilà, very high quality and interestingly shaped 'fish fingers'.

Peridot1 · 08/06/2023 09:32

@Stravaig - and in some expensive restaurants your hummus or pesto would be described as “deconstructed” and you would pay more for the privilege!Grin

Stravaig · 08/06/2023 09:41

🤣 UPF avoider, bodge cook, natural gourmet!

LaSelkie · 08/06/2023 11:01

Don't suppose anyone can recommend a good probiotic supplement to support the micro biome? I've been aware of UPF for a while and I'm ashamed to say that in our house it's mostly centred on the kids snacks :-(

toastofthetown · 08/06/2023 11:20

LaSelkie · 08/06/2023 11:01

Don't suppose anyone can recommend a good probiotic supplement to support the micro biome? I've been aware of UPF for a while and I'm ashamed to say that in our house it's mostly centred on the kids snacks :-(

Foods which are probiotic are generally better than supplements. Fermented food are one of the best sources. Things like sauerkraut, kefir, kombucha or kimchi are loaded with probiotics. They can be bought from shops, but (I believe, I’m not fermented vegetable fan) that a lot of kimchi and sauerkraut is pasteurised so you should be buying it from the fridge.

We make kombucha at home and it’s relatively easy. It only needs hands on time once a week when we pour out our first fermentation into bottles to carbonate, and then top up the leftover liquid with more sweet tea to continue fermentation for the next batch.

Eating at least thirty different plant foods a week (vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, grains, herbs, spices, beans, lentils) has also been associated with a greater microbiota diversity.

WeirdPookah · 08/06/2023 11:43

LaSelkie · 08/06/2023 11:01

Don't suppose anyone can recommend a good probiotic supplement to support the micro biome? I've been aware of UPF for a while and I'm ashamed to say that in our house it's mostly centred on the kids snacks :-(

Making your own kimchi is actually pretty easy too, your house smells very garlic-ky for a couple hours though!

Making yourself means you can control the heat, add things you like more, we like the ginger to be in sticks and garlic in slices, not fine, added carrot as well to add a little sweetness, and it's cheaper than the chinese cabbage!

mynameiscalypso · 08/06/2023 12:32

LaSelkie · 08/06/2023 11:01

Don't suppose anyone can recommend a good probiotic supplement to support the micro biome? I've been aware of UPF for a while and I'm ashamed to say that in our house it's mostly centred on the kids snacks :-(

I use biomel - it's powder that I had to yoghurt. I assume it's UPF but I think the gut health benefits are worth it - in one of the Tim Spector books, he pretty much says that pro/prebiotic supplements are one of the only supplements that have proper evidence behind them.

Fairislefandango · 18/06/2023 07:41

I take a probiotic, but I'd rather get it from my diet. I find things like kimchi and sauerkraut pretty indigestible though - they don't really agree with me. Presumably natural yoghurt will do the same thing for your gut biome though? It's a lot less faff too!

OP posts:
Fairislefandango · 18/06/2023 07:45

One thing I'm trying to do is cut out UPF snacks. We almost always cook from scratch and eat lots of salad, fruit and veg, so most of our UPF is probably in snack form - crisps, biscuits etc. I want to stop buying crisps and make our own biscuits or cakes. They are far nicer anyway, and I figure the effort of making them will ensure we eat them less often!

OP posts:
TellKingTutIWantMyMummy · 18/06/2023 08:49

I have now read the book and am horrified by my bread! And wraps, things like that. Kids won’t eat sourdough. I have always accepted snacks as upfs unless they’re fruit so that doesn’t bother me so much as I limit those anyway.

I am going to do a food diary this week and work out how ouch upf we are eating.

Fairislefandango · 18/06/2023 09:04

I have now read the book and am horrified by my bread! And wraps, things like that.

Yup. That must make up a big proportion of the UPF people eat. My solution is my bread maker. I have always used it pretty sporadically, but I'm much more in the routine of doing it now. Delicious bread, no dodgy ingredients, and very, very easy. Great for pizza dough too. Homemade pizza is a favourite in our house.

OP posts:
blinksy · 18/06/2023 10:29

Yes I got a breadmaker when I was weaning my pfb and I realised her daily recommended salt intake was in one slice of bread. Can't stand supermarket bread now.

ReallyShouldBeDoingSomethingElse · 20/06/2023 10:21

Can I ask the people who've read the book and understand better than me, how this bread stacks up in terms of UPF?

Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Water, Roasted Malted Rye (7%), Rye Flour, Malted Barley Flour (1%), Salt, Fermented Wheat Flour, Malted Wheat Flour

I cook all our meals from scratch but I do like the convenience of having a shop loaf of sliced bread I can bung in the trolley.

ReallyShouldBeDoingSomethingElse · 20/06/2023 10:24

And the same question re the yoghurt I buy (it's kefir with added cultures). I've read that shop-bought yoghurt is no good and to avoid UPF we should make our own but ingredients in this bought Tim's Dairy yoghurt are so basic:

Lactase Enzyme, Greek Style Natural Yogurt (Milk)

Bubbles254 · 20/06/2023 10:33

ReallyShouldBeDoingSomethingElse · 20/06/2023 10:21

Can I ask the people who've read the book and understand better than me, how this bread stacks up in terms of UPF?

Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Water, Roasted Malted Rye (7%), Rye Flour, Malted Barley Flour (1%), Salt, Fermented Wheat Flour, Malted Wheat Flour

I cook all our meals from scratch but I do like the convenience of having a shop loaf of sliced bread I can bung in the trolley.

That bread does not sound too bad too me, no emulsifiers or other ingredients you would not find in your kitchen. Bear in mind though that most flour is highly processed and disagrees with many people. I find it massively spikes my blood sugar.

With the yogurt watch 'greek syle'. If you can get greek yoghurt it will be better for you.
https://coach.nine.com.au/diet/greek-yoghurt-vs-greek-style-yoghurt/4d5c9aef-0de4-4a6d-a08f-11f8be609637

There's a big difference between Greek yoghurt and Greek-style yoghurt

https://coach.nine.com.au/diet/greek-yoghurt-vs-greek-style-yoghurt/4d5c9aef-0de4-4a6d-a08f-11f8be609637

Bartg · 20/06/2023 16:56

I didn’t know this about Greek yogurt vs Greek style. I just checked mine in the fridge and it says Greek style but the ingredients are just milk and live bacterial cultures. So I think that should be ok?